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Four year enlistment + stupid = a life sentence at Leavenworth (I hope). He's made Julian Assange and Wikileaks a worldwide household name. Sure hope he enjoys that while he spends the rest of his long life in that stone prison on the cold Kansas plain.

Its been a long time since I signed a charge sheet, but, unless I misread this, it looks like Manning is significantly 'undercharged' - Article 92 and 134 (the general article), and not Articles 104 and 106a, which carry the death penalty? I haven't seen the details (and we probably never will), but this doesn't look like a charge sheet prepared with the goal of deterring similar misconduct ....

Its been many years since I signed a charge sheet, but this looks like Manning was 'undercharged' - Article 92 and the 'general article,' and not Articles 104 and 106a, which carry the death penalty? So, if convicted, he gets a Dishonorable Discharge and few years in Leavenworth? Not a charge sheet calculated to deter similar misconduct .....

In 5 years, nobody will remember his name. He is destined to be an obscure footnote to a minor incident that is certain to be forgotten in history, and deserves to rot in the stockade for his betrayal of his sworn oath.

Manning either committed treason, or espianage (spelling?) in a war zone. Both are punishable by death...

That being said, Wikileaks has engaged in warfare against the United States. We as a nation should return the favor and 1) destroy Wikileaks and 2) kill everyone connected with it. This follows the policy of Theodore Roosevelt (the good Roo) and "Speak softly and carry a big stick." By compromising our security, it's time for the big stick approach against Wikilieaks.

I'm curious. "too often..." I can't see a reason why this would be heroic unless compromising the American military for the sake of naive One-World theorizing is your goal. Is there something other than that which you find heroic?

His brain should be vacuumed. He should be sentenced to death but not simply executed. This does not mean torture, although I am indifferent to any suffering he experiences. To me he should simply by pronounced legally dead and then every technical means available should be used to extract every scrap of information he possesses.

While leaks are inevitable, they should always be severely punished. No one and no entity should escape indictment and punishment. It is incredible to me that Manning, a lowly PFC, could have pulled this off without inside help. His treason is symptomatic of a more serious problem within our government. Yes, Manning should be drawn and quartered, but every effort should be expended by the administration to find out who those treasonous insiders are and to both expose them and severely punish them. But, I'm not counting on this gang to handle this crisis appropriately. They could be doing much more to shut down Wikileaks and exposing the scum who supplied or who otherwise allowed Manning to gain access to this material. Our credibility in the world is in the toilet, and it makes me sick to my stomach.

MT Lassen: That he might end up rotting in a stockade, there's no doubt. That he'll be a footnote, I agree, but an important one. Wikileaks is shining a light on the ugliness of our "kill 'em all" foreign policy. Manning helped put them on the map.

I look forward to Wikileaks of BoA release, if that's the bank in question. Next up, I hope they can get something on the TSA showing how male agents are targeting teen girls and young women without male companions for fondling. This is a pipe dream, though, seeing as the TSA keeps no records of what it does, intelligence having no role in their job.

I'm all for knowing our policies in war, etc. but there's no justification for leaking classified information. I think we can infer we have a "kill them all" policy when we kill at something like 10,000:1 ratio. Duh! (Which I don't have a problem with, BTW.)

Snow Man, if the TSA had such information, I seriously doubt it would qualify as "classified" and so should be accessible under FOI. Not all information is the same. Why doesn't Assange shine a light on Russia or China's policies? He'll be killed, that's why.

Smedley Butler was a whack job, one of the troofers of his day. Yeah, war is a racket sometimes. So is the anti-war non-profit mill. Each war has to be judged on its merits and by its ultimate effect, a judgment that only history can render, if it can be rendered at all. I do agree that the U.S. leadership has let us down and has let our troops down quite often in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the idea that there's no threat out there, while no doubt comforting, is about as real as the belief in Santa Claus - a comforting, nice belief, but one that ultimately isn't true and which is counterproductive if you try to apply it to enough real-life situations. Santa isn't going to pay your taxes, fix your transmission, or put food on your table. The threats posed by AQ and its allies, and the presciently termed Axis of Evil, are real and if not addressed now, will rise to the level of existential threats within a few years. It's not for nothing that the middle east nations are privately begging the U.S. to do something about Iran, and AQ, and that China wants to play ball on North Korea. Yeah, I think Wikileaks is a bad thing, but it is gratifying to know that despite the public rhetoric, many, many nations agree with the U.S. taking it to AQ. I just wish these other nations weren't such ingrates.

Its been a long time since I signed a charge sheet, but, unless I misread this, it looks like Manning is significantly 'undercharged'

Former JAG

Could it be that during your tenure the proclivities to administer punishment was not so heavily influenced by some biased PC requirement. And thus as the new intended NADT is initiated Bradley may subsequently serve only a short sentence and be permitted to remain in the military.

ArmyMomAn old WW II slogan was "loose lips sink ships." Would you want your son on the ship whose secrets Bradley exposed? Ask the families of the Cole what they think of the dudes who Bradley and his ilk have enabled. Those dudes enabled would be the Al-Qaeda despots.

America should take better care of its secrets. If a private that's been in the military 4 years can get access to this kind of information, in this volume, whether he's a traitor or not is besides the point: it is almost certain that foreign governments could have already accessed this and similar data, having funding, motivation and man power far in excess of Manning alone. This is a clear case of lax data security and the state department has no one but themselves to blame, and this apparent sloppiness is especially surprising coming from an organisation that helped pioneer both the protection and interception of such messages.

Those looking for the 'why's' for this behavior neglect the effect Mannings act has on the efforts and lives of all those serving this country. Sorry, Army Mom, he is a traitor. He violated his oath to serve and defend this country. Those who have served in the military, particularly those who have engaged in combat, know the meaning of trust. He cannot be trusted and should suffer the consequences. There should be a swift military courts marshal and, if found guilty, should be executed by firing squad. Sound tough? It is a logical consequence of betrayal to ones country, countrymen and fellow men at arms.

This piece of work should be the poster boy for why gays should not serve openly in the military. Vocal gays have their own agenda and defending the country is not one of them. Promoting a perverse unnatural lifestyle is.

Hmmm. I didn't notice a charge of violation of Title 18, Unites States Code, Section 2381:

"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them OR ADHERES TO THEIR ENEMIES, GIVING THEM AID AND COMFORT within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason AND SHALL SUFFER DEATH, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years..."

Nothing but gossip here, move along. But Julian has insured that obama is a one termer, and that Hillary is toast. 2012 was so close wasn't it Hillary? Hillary is one pissed off bitch now, and I wonder whom she is going to eviscerate as payback. She'll start with the messiah.

if his leaks endangered the lives of americans or our assets (like the bush/cheney/rove/libby leak of valerie plame, CIA agent did), then i'd be fine with charges of treason and have him rot or shot--still think rove (if not bush/cheney) should be in prison for that. if his leaks were just 99% low level boring after action reports AND 1% embarrassing reports that don't endanger anyone, i'd be fine if he serves a shorter term. the apache video caused a stir among the more anti-war folks, but the more sensible liberals and others clearly saw (or read about the fact) that there were armed men with those reporters--one or two of whom was carrying RPGs!! i think people want to make him more of a scapegoat for all the shittiness and wasted money and lost lives, but he was just a kid who thought things were messed up and decided to try to get his message out; he broke the law, and should pay accordingly (no more, no less). dumb kid. people who get paid $1800/month (was that before taxes?!?) don't have any business working on secure lines anyway, do they? (not to blame the victim--army--here)

He leaked classified information. IT does not matter what was in it as some of you suggest. It is treasonous. He should be put away for life.If his leaks do in fact lead to the death of soldiers or allies: death penalty.

First Pfc Bradley needs to spend a lot of time in Ft. Leavenworth (I think 20 years is a good number) He violated his oath to the US Constitution and to the military. 2nd, none of this has anything to do with his being gay. 3rd. Assange is an asshole. 4th. Nothing in this latest group of message from Wikileaks in my humble opinion compromises America. In fact, just quite the opposite. I am really impressed with the folks who work in the State Department who do a great job both under the Bush and Obama Administration. If anything these leaks really put America in a good light and that years down the road this event will be nothing more then a footnote. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. 5th. If this had happen with a Republican President none of the anti-Obama people would say anything. If anything this happened because of reccomendations under the 9/11 Commission on sharing intelligence info amongst the various govt. agencies which was under the Bush Administration.

To sum it up. Everything in the Wikileaks was stuff a lot of us already kind of knew.

"lots to consider"......Since she was not a covert agent as defined by Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, then no assets were endangered. She was just a CIA employee no matter what that laughable, whacko movie that is coming out soon says. Manning knowingly tried to damage the U.S. and must have known that his criminal acts would endanger the lives of others. Hang him.

I doubt it. Treason is extremely hard to prove, due to the framers of the US Constitution making sure that charge was not abused as it was in the UK. Two people have to witness the act and/or and open confession in court.

On spying, the only grounds for execution in the US is revealing nuclear secrets. There was one item added after and FBI agent revealed secrets that result in a number of Russians working for the CIA being exposed and executed. Whether that law applies to Manning, is unknown. And they would have to prove that an Afghan (the ones the US military is very concerned about in the leaks) was killed as a direct result of Manning's actions.

You can tell which comments are written by people who have never served, and don't honor those who do. They are also Obama supporters. They are also the very same people who stood an cheered when John "I served in Viet Nam for four months" Kerry stood before the DNC convention and said he was "reporting for duty". For them, duty and honor and country is something to chuckle about. They will never give one single moment of sacrifice for either their fellow countrymen or their own country. They used up and threw out Cindy Sheehan just as quickly as they will throw out PFC Manning when he no longer is useful. They have no honor, and as such, need to heap false charges of dishonor on all of us who have served, and sacrificed, for our fellow countrymen in order to salve their feelings of cowardice and their knowledge that they have done nothing to forward the human condition one inch.

I served in Iraq with a soldier that later joined IVAW. Probably the only real soldier in all of IVAW, certainly the only one I know of, though I served with many. He was a dirtbag then, barely a soldier, and would have been kicked out if he wasn't so close to ETSing. And I doubt that he's changed any now.

If the Afghan was killed due to Manning's leaks, hang him. If not, life without parole at Leavenworth, preferably in solitary. Make an example of him. He's the best reason I've seen yet for banning homos in the military. They're all traitors waiting for their opportunity to strike.

@anonymous guy/girl who thinks they "can tell which comments are written by people who have never served." I think you're talking about me for one--keep barking all day, little dog. I was a Rakkasan scout at Ft Campbell (though I spent an awful lot of time at Benning). But keep wrapping yourself in the flag; it's my hope that Yon kinda depends on those like you, but he recognizes you for what you are.

@JoeBeach-->There is a TON of evidence she was covert at the time. I HOPE the leaks didn't expose anyone--but I know Cheney/Libby/Rove did. According to this Newsweek article titled "The CIA Leak: Plame Was StillCovert" by Michael Isikoff and dated Feb. 13, 2006, special prosecutorPatrick Fitzgerald made a determination on this matter.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11179719/site/newsweek/

"But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeeddone 'covert work overseas' on counterproliferation matters in the pastfive years, and the CIA 'was making specific efforts to conceal' heridentity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion."

"The term 'covert agent' means?(A) a present or retired officer or employee of an intelligence agency ora present or retired member of the Armed Forces assigned to duty with anintelligence agency?(i) whose identity as such an officer, employee, or member is classifiedinformation, and(ii) who is serving outside the United States or has within the last fiveyears served outside the United States; ..."

Under the above definition and the assertion by Patrick Fitzgerald, ValeriePlame, also know as Valerie Wilson, was considered a CIA covert agent whenRobert Novak's July 14, 2003 column was published in the Washington Post.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html

"Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agencyoperative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officialstold me that Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate theItalian report. The CIA says its counterproliferation officials selectedWilson and asked his wife to contact him."

Sorry Mac, but I've served with several homosexuals in the Army; and all of them served well, and honorably. One was a doc, one was a Patriot ADA Battery commander, two were in my company while I was in command. Not a problem with any of them. This particular PFC may be gay, but he's not in trouble because he's gay, he's in trouble because he's a dirtbag traitor, period. There are legitimate reasons to question whether gays should openly serve, but using the example of this shitbird isn't one, in my opinion.

First of all let me tell you that I received my purple heart and Army commendation medal in Vietnam, which I think was another war America was lied into. That being said I think to many of you sound like the good "I was only following orders" Germans of WW2. We are led to slaughter by evil and greedy politicians and arms makers. Wikileaks has helped pull back the curtain of secrecy these people need to keep operating behind. Shine the light of truth in and the rats scurry and fight back with more lies and false paranoia. The following is a quote I saved from the Christian Science Monitor."When a government secretly engages in such consequential activities as aggressive wars justified by at best questionable and at worst fabricated intelligence, covert bombings and assassinations, and diplomatic maneuvering designed to support such global meddling, the people in whose name that government acts – and who could suffer retaliation – have a right to know."I commend PFC. Manning for having the balls to stand up for America by helping shed light on the evil doers that profit by the wanton slaughter of people.

yeah, i just don't think any of these leaks equal to much of anything. heck, maybe the diplomatic stuff will help us--too bad we can't be so blunt without being undiplomatic. both sides are blowing it out of proportion, while the middle doesn't really care. there's no Gulf of Tonkin here--no My Lai, etc. move on. (ps--my views were mostly in sync with what turned out to be pat tilman's, who supported afghanistan but not iraq--except i supported iraq about 30%...i'm all for taking out horrible people (i'm looking at you kim jong il--and you're little fat, pug of a son too), but i don't think we should have to lie--and create one failed justification after another and falsify documents and sit our troops out on the border hoping for a preemptive attack on them--to do it.

yeah, i just don't think any of these leaks equal to much of anything. heck, maybe the diplomatic stuff will help us--too bad we can't be so blunt without being undiplomatic. both sides are blowing it out of proportion, while the middle doesn't really care. there's no Gulf of Tonkin here--no My Lai, etc. move on. (ps--my views were mostly in sync with what turned out to be pat tilman's, who supported afghanistan but not iraq--except i supported iraq about 30%...i'm all for taking out horrible people (i'm looking at you kim jong il--and you're little fat, pug of a son too), but i don't think we should have to lie--and create one failed justification after another and falsify documents and sit our troops out on the border hoping for a preemptive attack on them--to do it.

He should be pardoned, I'm sure Ron Paul would do so. This issue divides the Republican Party, and shows who are true libertarians and who believe that government should be able to keep secrets from its citizens, especially secrets that indicate war crimes. Everyone who accuses him of putting lives in danger and at the same time endorse the wars Bush and Obama are prosecuting abroad are total hypocrites.

Interesting breadth of commentary, from those advocating death and those advocating pardon. I'm pretty sure, for those neo-patriots on here, that the Founding Dudes intended for us to stay out of foreign wars and entangling allegiances in the first place. So if you want to follow the letter of the law and start hanging people for betraying our country, let's start with those at the top.

"Interesting breadth of commentary, from those advocating death and those advocating pardon. I'm pretty sure, for those neo-patriots on here, that the Founding Dudes intended for us to stay out of foreign wars and entangling allegiances in the first place. So if you want to follow the letter of the law and start hanging people for betraying our country, let's start with those at the top."

Which, no doubt, is why Jefferson sent the marines to "shores of " Tripoli. Oh, and yeah, this veteran says the guy should suffer a lot for his treason. Make no mistake, regardless of whether you agree with the politics of any war, it is a high crime to leak military secrets during that war - especially if you are a soldier.

If we were in a dictatorship, one could perhaps justify such behavior, but we are not. Like it or not, the war is being waged under our democratic system, by legally elected leaders of both parties, acting in accordance with the Constitution.

to: Joe, and JR: (re: no harm done with these leaks)You must not read the foreign news. The Taliban is all over this leak, a terrific way to finger who out in the provinces is aiding the Afghan government.

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